Modern construction design often requires caissons to be driven into the earth at desired locations. In the context of the present invention, the term “caisson” will be used to refer to hollow, cylindrical members that are driven into the earth. Caissons are normally used as part of the footing for a structural element such as a building foundation or bridge pier, but the end use of the caisson is not a part of the present invention.
Pile driving systems that impart vibratory loads are highly effective at driving elongate members such as piles, caissons, and the like into the earth. The vibratory forces of such vibratory pile  deriving systems must be transmitted to the member to be driven by a clamping assembly. The clamping assembly ensures that the vibratory forces in both directions are applied to the member to be driven.
In the case of caissons, the clamping assembly conventionally comprises a rigid structural member or assembly on which are mounted two or more hydraulic clamps. The hydraulic clamps are spaced from each other along the structural member to grip the upper edge of the caisson such that the vibratory loads are symmetrically applied along the centerline of the caisson.
A basic clamping assembly for relatively small-diameter caissons comprises a single structural member and two hydraulic clamps. The hydraulic clamps are movable along the structural member to allow the clamping assembly to accommodate caissons of different diameters within a range defined by the length of the structural member.
Conventionally, the hydraulic clamps are moved by hand to desired locations on the structural member and fixed. The entire assembly is then lifted to the top of the caisson and displaced such that the top edge of the caisson enters the hydraulic clamps. The clamps are then actuated to grip the caisson and the process of driving the caisson can be commenced.
The need thus exists for improved caisson clamping systems that simplify the process of attaching a vibratory device to a caisson to be driven into the earth. 